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BACKGROUND: Opioid overdose is a major and increasing cause of injury and death. There is an urgent need for interventions to reduce overdose events among high-risk persons. METHODS: Adults at elevated risk for opioid overdose involving heroin or p...

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Network for Public Health Law. 01/29/2018 This eight-page issue brief explains and contrasts the specifics of panels that specifically review drug overdose deaths to provide additional data regarding overdose decedents and, typically, make recommendations for policy improvements. It reviews panels in the six states that have established such panels as of late 2017, and discusses black market drug products, both heroin and counterfeit pills, which became increasingly adulterated with illicitly manufactured synthetic opioids, mainly fentanyl analogues. (PDF)

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Member Highlights: North Pocono Public Library, Moscow, PA – learn about this library’s community education series designed to address difficult life planning decisions. Is your organization working on a similar project? Tell us about it! NNLM MAR is always interested in learning about health outreach activities that are happening in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Delaware.
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(Natural News) The opioid crisis has reached epidemic proportions in this country, with the number of deaths quadrupling since 2000, and around 115 people dying from overdoses each day. President Trump has declared the opioid crisis a national health emergency, and high schools across the country have started stocking up on the drug Narcan to...

Discussion at the hearing largely focused on the desire to pass bipartisan legislation to address the opioid crisis as well as to determine best practices to identify over-prescribers and reduce instances of fraud.
Opening Statements
Chairwoman Lynn Jenkins opened the hearing by highlighting statistics regarding rising opioid related overdose death rates in her home state of Kansas. She went on to state that the “immense cost opioids impose on society” have caused a loss of productivity and put undue burden on the U.S. economic system. To lessen this burden, Jenkins stressed the importance to provide Medicare...

Acetaminophen (APAP)-induced liver injury in mice is associated with activation of the coagulation cascade and deposition of fibrin in liver. Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) is an important physiological inhibitor of tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) and plays a critical role in fibrinolysis. PAI-1 expression is increased in both experimental APAP-induced liver injury and patients with acute liver failure. Prior studies have shown that PAI-1 prevents intrahepatic hemorrhage and mortality after APAP challenge, but the downstream mechanisms are not clear.

Joshua Sharfstein in JAMA discusses the opioid abuse epidemic and what to do about it. This is an opinion piece that doesn't have references, but I can assure you that he is right on the facts. People with opioid addiction seldom succeed in maintaining long term recovery without what we call Medication Assisted Treatment. That means either methadone or buprenorphine, both of which are themselves opioids. As Sharfstein tell us, " Many still believe that those who take methadone or buprenorphine are'trading one addiction for another,'' in bondage,'or'taking a cop-out.'" People who are using these medications may fa...